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Exchange-traded funds that track the South Korean equity market were little changed on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. stood "ready, willing and able" to act against North Korea militarily if it threatened the U.S. Speaking at the United Nations, Trump said he would "destroy" the country if necessary, calling it a "depraved" regime whose pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the world. Military conflict would likely be devastating for the region, but investors didn't seem to fear Trump's words. The iShares MSCI South Korea Capped ETF rose less than 0.1% to $69.88, though it had risen as high as $70.12 earlier in the session. Despite elevated tensions with North Korea throughout the year, the fund is up more than 30% thus far this year. Separately, the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI South Korea Hedged Equity ETF was up 0.1%. Against the U.S. dollar, the South Korean won was unchanged.

Exchange-traded funds that track the South Korean equity market fell on Thursday, extending their recent weakness as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea remained elevated. The iShares MSCI South Korea Capped ETF lost 1.9%, building on the 2% drop it underwent in Wednesday's session. The fund is on track for its third straight daily decline, a period over which it has lost nearly 5% of its value. Thus far this week it is down about 4.3% and on track for its biggest weekly loss since January 2016, according to FactSet data. Among other funds, the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI South Korea Hedged Equity ETF fell 1.3%, the First Trust South Korea AlphaDEX Fund was down 1.6% and the Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares , a leveraged fund that aims to offer 300% the daily move of its underlying index, dropped 5.3%. The South Korean Won fell 0.6% against the U.S. dollar, bringing its month-to-date decline to 2.4%. Global tensions appeared to escalate after North Korean army commander said, "sound dialogue" isn't possible with President Donald Trump and "only absolute force can work on him," according to state media. North Korea also laid out detailed plans of how it would launch a missile strike on U.S. military bases in Guam.

Exchange-traded funds that track the South Korean equity market fell on Wednesday, amid an escalation in tensions between North Korea and the United States. The iShares MSCI South Korea Capped ETF fell 2.3% in its biggest one-day percentage decline since December 2016, extending a 0.9% drop it suffered on Tuesday. At current levels, the fund is trading at its lowest level since early July, though it remains sharply higher for the year, having gained more than 26%. Among other funds, the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI South Korea Hedged Equity ETF fell 1.2% and the First Trust South Korea AlphaDEX Fund was off 3.4%. The Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares , a leveraged fund that aims to offer 300% the daily move of its underlying index, was down by 6.5%. Separately, the South Korean Won fell 0.9% against the U.S. dollar. The increase in geopolitical uncertainty came after the Washington Post reported that North Korea had successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that it can fit inside its missiles. U.S. President Donald Trump said he would respond with "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if the Asian country doesn't halt its threats. That was followed by reports that North Korea was exploring a ballistic strike aimed at U.S. territory Guam.

ETF Details

Category

Pacific Ex Japan

Portfolio Style

Pacific Ex Japan

Fund Status

Open

Fund Inception

April 18, 2011

Manager

Team Managed

Investment Policy

The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the NASDAQ AlphaDEX South Korea Index. The Fund will invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Index that is designed to select stocks from the NASDAQ South Korea Index.
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